SAT Reading & Writing · Rhetorical Synthesis
A student has researched the Atacama Desert and compiled the following notes: - Parts of the Atacama receive almost no rainfall, some…
A student has researched the Atacama Desert and compiled the following notes:
- Parts of the Atacama receive almost no rainfall, some areas going decades without measurable precipitation.
- The Andes mountains block moisture from the east, and a cold ocean current suppresses rainfall from the west.
- Some Atacama soils have preserved salt deposits for extremely long periods due to the near-total absence of water.
- Microbial life persists in small, sheltered niches within the desert.
- Rare rainfall events can trigger rapid, dramatic blooms of dormant plant life.
- Because of its extreme dryness, parts of the Atacama are used by scientists as a stand-in for studying conditions on Mars.
The student wants to explain why the Atacama's climate is so extreme. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
- Parts of the Atacama receive almost no rainfall, some areas going decades without measurable precipitation.
- The Andes mountains block moisture from the east, and a cold ocean current suppresses rainfall from the west.
- Some Atacama soils have preserved salt deposits for extremely long periods due to the near-total absence of water.
- Microbial life persists in small, sheltered niches within the desert.
- Rare rainfall events can trigger rapid, dramatic blooms of dormant plant life.
- Because of its extreme dryness, parts of the Atacama are used by scientists as a stand-in for studying conditions on Mars.
The student wants to explain why the Atacama's climate is so extreme. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
Answer and explanation
Answer: D: The Andes mountains block moisture from the east, while a cold ocean current suppresses rainfall from the west, together producing conditions in which some areas go decades without measurable rain.
The goal is specifically about *why* the climate is extreme, a question about cause. D is the only choice that names the two actual mechanisms (mountain rain-blocking and ocean current effects) and connects them to the resulting dryness. A describes a consequence of the dryness, not its cause. C and B each describe something interesting that depends on the extreme climate already existing, instead of explaining where that climate comes from.
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